Motorized passenger vehicles such as cars and pick-up trucks often include or doors windows that may be selectively opened to admit air into a passenger compartment. In the case of a window, opening and closing may typically be achieved by raising or lowering a single panel of glass recessed within a panel of the vehicle, such as the door. In some locations, such as a back or rear side of a pickup truck cab, providing a window that can be recessed within the adjacent body panel may be a challenge in view of the limited space available for storing a fixed height piece of glass in a fully recessed position.
Vehicle doors are typically mounted for pivoting or sliding between a closed condition and an open condition projecting from the vehicle. This can also be a problem when space is limited for opening the door. Most doors are also heavy, especially those that slide, and are typically secured in place by complex latching mechanisms.
Thus, a need is identified for a collapsible vehicle window or door that can occupy an opening in a vehicle where internal or external space is at a premium, or also when a simplified manner of manually retracting or collapsing and deploying the window or door is desired.